Are electronic signatures legal in New Zealand?

What does the Contract and Commercial Law Act require?

New Zealand moved its electronic transactions rules into subpart 3 of Part 4 of the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017, which replaced the Electronic Transactions Act 2002. The wording is close to the old Act, so earlier commentary is still useful.

Section 226(1) says a legal requirement for a signature, other than a witness's signature, is met by an electronic signature that adequately identifies the signatory and adequately indicates their approval of the information, and is as reliable as is appropriate given the purpose and circumstances. Section 226(2) adds a consent rule: where the signature relates to information that must legally be given to a person, that person must consent to receiving an electronic signature.

Section 227 covers witnessing. A witness can sign electronically if the signature being witnessed complies with section 226 and the witness's own electronic signature adequately identifies them, shows the signature was witnessed, and is reliable enough for the purpose.

The section 228 presumption

New Zealand has no separate tier of advanced or qualified signatures. Instead, section 228 sets out when an electronic signature is presumed to be as reliable as appropriate:

• The means of creating the signature is linked to the signatory and to no other person
• That means was under the signatory's control and no one else's
• Any alteration to the signature after signing is detectable
• Where the purpose is to assure integrity, any alteration to the information after signing is detectable

What does Schedule 5 exclude?

Section 218 says the electronic transactions rules do not apply to the enactments and provisions listed in Schedule 5. Part 3 of that Schedule covers the document types most businesses meet. Since 30 March 2025, section 218(3) brings back in a deed that creates a power of attorney in connection with a security interest.

• Notices that must be given to the public
• Information that must be given in writing in person or by registered post
• Affidavits, statutory declarations and other documents given on oath or affirmation
• Powers of attorney and enduring powers of attorney, other than those under section 218(3)
• Wills, codicils and other testamentary instruments
• Negotiable instruments
• Bills of lading
• Search, entry and seizure warrants

Evidence worth keeping

The section 228 factors are a good checklist for your records, even if you do not rely on the presumption. If someone later says they did not sign, you want to show the signing method was tied to them, and that the document has not changed since.

• The final signed PDF, sealed so changes are visible
• How the signer was identified, such as a code sent to an email only they control
• Timestamps, IP address and device for each step
• The signer's consent to sign electronically

Where Sign PDF fits

Sign PDF ties each signature to a six-digit code sent to the signer's email, records their consent to sign electronically, and adds a certificate of completion with IP address, approximate location, device and UTC times. A SHA-256 fingerprint and a hash-chained audit trail are sealed into the PDF with an independent DigiCert timestamp, so any later change to the document is detectable. That speaks directly to the reliability test in section 226 and the factors in section 228, though a court decides whether the presumption applies.

Use it for employment agreements, NDAs, residential tenancy agreements, contractor agreements, sale and purchase paperwork and board resolutions. Wills, enduring powers of attorney and statutory declarations stay on paper under Schedule 5. This page is general information, not legal advice; check with a New Zealand lawyer before relying on it for a significant transaction.